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• Wenger will sort out problems at the Emirates, says Carragher
• Frenchman stays calm but admits his players were ‘naive’

The player in the bowels of the Emirates Stadium radiated conviction. Arsenal would pick themselves up, he predicted, because Arsène Wenger knew. An unfortunate selection crisis had served to offer a skewed impression of the team, which Liverpool had exploited to ignite their own season.

Do not forget, he added, that Arsenal were the only club who threatened to stop Manchester United towards the end of last season’s Premier League. “I certainly don’t think that Arsenal are a spent force or anything like that,” he said. “I certainly wouldn’t be writing off Arsenal.”

The fighting talk, though, came in Jamie Carragher’s unmistakable tones. The Liverpool captain had ignored the large target and chosen not to put the boot in. Call it professionalism, experience or, whisper it, sympathy. It almost felt too easy to kick Arsenal on Saturday.

As Carragher spoke, Arsenal’s traumatised players walked by, eyes fixed on the floor or, trance-like, into the middle distance. They had nothing to say, no reassurances for the supporters, but who could blame them? It would have misjudged the mood to play up the positives, such as the excellence of Wojciech Szczesny and Thomas Vermaelen or the swaggering promise of Emmanuel Frimpong. And with emotions running high, some of them might even have said the wrong things – like how they truly felt about the direction of the club.

Wenger had, as always, appealed for calm and perspective. He lamented, as always, the knee-jerk world of the Premier League, in which “every defeat is absolutely a disgrace and an earthquake”. But it said much that he was forced to field questions about whether he could envisage himself quitting. He cannot. The Frenchman offered a reminder that it was only the start of the season yet the coming week has the capacity to derail it for his club. The Champions League play-off second leg at Udinese on Wednesday is fraught with peril. An away goal would surely send Arsenal through but a big problem for Wenger’s team so far has been in the final third, where penetration and cutting edge have, strangely, been absent. Then comes Sunday’s visit to Old Trafford, where defeat would leave them with one Premier League point from a possible nine and swimming against the tide for the title.

Arsenal finished Saturday’s game with 10 men after the ticking time-bomb that was Frimpong went off. Having gone for short sides at the barber’s shop for an eye-catching full Premier League debut look, he always looked like leaving his side short after he was booked in the eighth minute for inexplicably getting in Jordan Henderson’s face as the Liverpool midfielder went to take a throw-in.

Frimpong’s lunge at Lucas Leiva on 70 minutes was ugly enough for a straight red, rather than a second yellow. He was given a standing ovation by the home crowd, who also got behind Samir Nasri, a surprise starter here despite his desire to leave. These are desperate times.

Kenny Dalglish immediately sent on Luis Suárez and Raul Meireles, below, who would be involved in both goals, while Wenger introduced Henri Lansbury for only his second Premier League appearance, for the dismal Andrey Arshavin. Wenger had given Premier League debuts to Carl Jenkinson and Ignasi Miquel, who came on for the injured Laurent Koscielny, while his team that finished included Nicklas Bendtner, another player he is prepared to sell.

The young players gave everything but there was, inevitably, a costly mistake when Miquel’s attempted clearance, under pressure from Suárez, who had looked offside in the build-up, ricocheted off Aaron Ramsey for a freakish own-goal. Wenger stood accused of exposing too much inexperience to such a high-pressure game and it was worth considering that Gaël Clichy, Emmanuel Eboué and Denílson, three players he has moved on this summer, would surely have featured if they were still at the club.

“I don’t think the decision on the offside depends on our players,” Wenger said. “We were a bit young, I agree, and we looked a bit naive in some situations, I agree as well. But we have shown a great spirit and we were really unlucky. We didn’t deserve to lose.”

Wenger maintains that he will add only players who can improve the quality of his squad yet he appears to have lost confidence in Sébastien Squillaci, who was absent on Saturday because of a mystery calf problem. If top Premier League clubs need four central defenders, then the task to find someone better than Squillaci ought not to be beyond him. Unless he intends to rely on Miquel.

Robin Van Persie missed a glorious chance on 69 minutes but Liverpool should have been in front by then and, after Frimpong’s dismissal, they found a way through. “It’s always been a complaint about the bench at Liverpool,” Carragher said, “but to have the quality we did to come on [Suárez and Meireles] was instrumental in us killing the game. It just shows that substitutes are massive.”

Arsenal’s need for established reinforcements is glaring.

Man of the match José Enrique (Liverpool)

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• Wenger upset at Jack Wilshere’s expected England U21 call-up
• Cesc Fábregas told to deliver trophies with Arsenal

Arsène Wenger has warned Fabio Capello and Stuart Pearce to expect a backlash if Andy Carroll were to be stood down from the England Under-21 squad for the European Championship next month.

The Arsenal manager is upset that Jack Wilshere looks set to be named in Pearce’s 23-man squad for the finals in Denmark, which take place between 11 and 25 June, despite his having graduated to Capello’s senior team. Wilshere, who has made 54 appearances for club and country at all levels this season, is expected to play for Capello’s side in the Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland on 4 June.

Wenger has warned of the dangers of burnout but his ire would deepen if Liverpool succeeded in withdrawing Carroll from the squad, on the basis that the knee problem that has held him back in recent weeks would benefit from a summer of rest. Carroll, the £35m January signing from Newcastle United, who is also a full international, has made 31 appearances this season.

Liverpool are lobbying for Carroll to be excused from the tournament in Denmark and, amid the toing and froing, the Football Association was forced to say Pearce’s final squad announcement would not be until next Monday, after the final round of Premier League fixtures. The governing body had hoped to publish the list of names on Thursday.

“Pearce will be concerned to leave Carroll behind,” Wenger said, “and I don’t think he will do it because that is opening the doors for any other complaints behind that. Players react like: ‘If he doesn’t go, why do I go?’ That could be a dangerous game to leave Carroll behind. It could create many other problems. I would not be the first on the phone but there would be no logic in the attitude of the selection.

“I could understand if Carroll doesn’t go for injury problems but for fatigue problems … it would be more difficult to convince people in England that he is more tired than Jack Wilshere.”

Wenger announced on Thursday morning that he knew that Wilshere was in Pearce’s squad and, although he continues to hope that there could be a change of heart, prompted by his pressure, he intends to plan for the beginning of next season without the 19-year-old.

In an attempt to guard against burnout, he will give Wilshere four weeks of complete rest, calculated from the day that the Under-21s exit the Championship, and he said the midfielder would then need at least three weeks of pre-season work before he could consider selecting him.

The semi-finals in Denmark are scheduled for 22 June; the final for 25 June and the new Premier League season will kick-off on 13 August. Wenger said the senior England team “know Jack will not be available for the friendly” on 10 August against Holland at Wembley. “Jack will be very unlikely to start the season for us,” said Wenger, who feels that the decision to take Wilshere to Denmark is a “risk for Jack’s health”.

Wenger, meanwhile, has told Cesc Fábregas that Arsenal’s trophy-free season does not offer him the excuse to leave for Barcelona, the midfielder’s former club and perennial suitors. “What guarantees you that if you go somewhere else, you win trophies?” Wenger said. “I believe that the biggest pride for a captain is to be committed to his club and deliver trophies with his team.

“A player who changes clubs every time when he is frustrated or when he does not win a trophy goes nowhere. I believe that the quality of a sports life is to be committed to your club and not just move out when it doesn’t go as well as expected.

“I expect Cesc to be here. We will fight very hard to keep him here. You have always to fight when you have a player of that quality. You have always to fight to keep the players, of course.”

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• Draw leaves Gunners six points behind Manchester United
• Liverpool equalise through Dirk Kuyt in 102nd minute

Arsène Wenger has refused to give up on Arsenal winning the Premier League title despite their hopes of ousting Manchester United from top spot suffering a dramatic and seemingly devastating blow in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool. Wenger’s team looked set for victory following Robin van Persie’s penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time, only for the visitors to equalise through a penalty of their own four minutes later. Arsenal are six points behind United with only six fixtures to play.

Wenger was left enraged at the referee, Andre Marriner, for pointing to the spot after Emmanuel Eboué appeared to push Lucas Leiva in the 101st minute of the contest. He denied the full-back had fouled the Brazilian and following Dirk Kuyt’s conversion – which proved to be the last kick of the game – confronted Marriner on the pitch demanding to know why he had gone over the stipulated eight minutes of added time, a lengthy period that largely culminated from the treatment Jamie Carragher had to receive for a second-half head injury which required the defender to leave the pitch on a stretcher and wearing an oxygen mask.

Wenger also became embroiled in a heated exchange with Kenny Dalglish, the Liverpool manager, regarding the awarding of the second penalty. Both men refused to expand on what they had said to each other but reports suggest Dalglish swore at his counterpart.

“We conceded a penalty after 11 minutes and the extra time was only eight minutes, I don’t know where this additional time came from,” said Wenger. “The referee has not explained anything to me but I know it was no penalty. Lucas played in an intelligent way. He stopped his [Eboué] runs, Eboué wanted to go to the ball and he stopped him and referee said nothing. What can you do about it?”

Wenger said last week that the “title would be over” for Arsenal if they failed to beat Liverpool and Tottenham, who they face at White Hart Lane on Wednesday. He refused to endorse that view here despite what has now proved to be Arsenal’s seventh draw in 15 league games and their third draw in a row at home. “This looks like a defeat but we will keep giving everything until the last game of the season and see if it is our year. The hope is always there, to keep hope alive we have to win our next game.”

But that may prove difficult as Wenger admits his players will travel to White Hart Lane in two days’ time in a state of “disappointment” and, he conceded, looking jaded both physically and mentally. Their performance here certainly appeared to be that of a team running out of vigour after a season which, at one stage, appeared as if it could result in a quadruple of trophies but now looks like it will be the sixth in succession in which the club has failed to land any silverware.

The hosts created few chances against a team that was missing its captain, Steven Gerrard, through injury, and had to substitute three more players during the contest due to strains – Carragher, Andy Carroll and Fabío Aurélio, the last of which led to the introduction at left-back of 17-year-old Jack Robinson for only his second appearance for Liverpool’s first-team. Carragher, who accidentally clashed heads with Liverpool’s other teenage full-back Liverpool’s teenage full-back John Flanagan, recovered consciousness soon after being replaced and was well enough to congratulate his team-mates after the final whistle, while Carroll was taken off as a precaution after jarring his knee early on in the second half early on in the second-period. Aurelio, however, has damaged his hamstring and could now miss the rest of the season.

Playing a patched-up side, Playing a patched-up side Arsenal appeared to have secured all three points when Jay Spearing tripped Cesc Fábregas in the area and Van Persie drove in the resulting spot kick past Liverpool’s goalkeeper José Reina for his 19th goal of the season. But Liverpool were to have the last word. “I don’t think there’s any other team that would have shown the attitude and commitment that our team showed today,” said Dalglish. “We lost Fabio [Aurerlio] early on, had to put a 17-year-old boy on, lost the captain [Carragher], lost the centre-forward [Carroll], lost the goal eight minutes into injury time and still didn’t want to accept we weren’t going to get anything from the game. “I can’t speak highly enough of the players.”

Asked about the penalty decisions, the Scot mischievously added: “Well, I thought one was a penalty and one wasn’t. I’ll leave you to decide which one was which.”

This draw keeps Liverpool in the hunt for a Europa League place but has increased the chances of United winning a 19th league title and, therefore, ousting the Merseysiders as England’s most decorated domestic champions. Asked if he felt sad about the potential development, Dalglish said: “I have nothing to feel sad about, as far as I’m concerned Liverpool are still best club in English football, if not world football.”

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